


Small Thoughts - Big Dreams

by Tolleren



Category: Merlin (TV)
Genre: 100 word drabbles, Arthur Pendragon Returns, Arthur being Arthur, Bunnies, Campfires, Daydreams, Dogs, Flowers, Full Moon, Merlin hates hunting, Parrots, Uther as ghost, Uther encounters a purple and pink unicorn, Waiting, a neckerchief gets eaten, museum visits, small reference to character death (Uther), the guards knows, the wonders of magic, thoughts, tvs are evil, weather affected by mood swings
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-04-02
Updated: 2015-07-23
Packaged: 2018-03-20 22:57:34
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 20
Words: 1,991
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3668340
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Tolleren/pseuds/Tolleren
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>"No!" Arthur glared at his servant, "it will not stay!"</p><p>"Come on Clotpole, he's just a puppy." Merlin looked fondly at the dog.</p><p>They both looked down at the puppy chewing at Arthur's boots. "You will not keep him!"</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Keep the Pet

"No!" Arthur glared at his servant, "it will not stay!"

"Come on Clotpole, he's just a puppy." Merlin looked fondly at the dog.

They both looked down at the puppy chewing at Arthur's boots. "You will not keep him!"

Merlin tried again with a kitten, then a goat and a chicken; all were sent away.

A week later he showed up with a strange coloured bird.

"What the hell is that?!"

"It's a parrot sire; you can train them to speak."

Arthur glared at the bird.

The bird glared back.

"Hello prat!"

He should have let Merlin keep the dog.


	2. Murderer

Merlin looked the creature right in the eyes.

Its dark eyes were deep and innocent, or so it wanted you to think.

Merlin knew better; this was a monster, a killer, a murderer!

Suddenly the door to Arthur's chambers was opened and the king walked in. He stopped and stared, before walking over to them sighing loudly. He took them both by the neck and threw them out.

The door slammed shut behind them.

Merlin looked beside him. The creature had still some red clothing hanging from the corner of its mouth; his former favourite neckerchief.

Bunnies were bloody murderers!

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please leave constructive criticism
> 
> I don't own Merlin


	3. Fire

The first spark hit the wood, then another.

Quickly a small flame was alive. Its small light beautiful in the dark.

More and more flames joined the first and soon you could call it a fire.

The flames were greedy and devoured the wood. They climbed higher, growing bigger and wilder on their desperate hunt for more.

Soon they were touching flesh, licking the skin.

Smoke covered the sky.

The skin slowly melted and the flesh changed colour. No one made a sound.

Merlin couldn't wait for the pork to be finished; you got hungry when you were on patrol.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please leave constructive criticism
> 
> I don't own Merlin


	4. Never stupid

Arthur wasn't stupid.

He knew Merlin didn't go to the tavern when he disappeared. He had seen him drink, and no one who went to the tavern often would get drunk that fast.

He also knew his servant hadn't the money for it. The payment wasn't that high; even for the servant to the king.

There had to be another reason.

It took some time, but he finally figured it out.

A girl.

It all fit. The dresses; the flowers; why he wasn't interested in the servant girls who smiled sweetly at him …

Arthur just hoped it wasn't Morgana.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please leave constructive criticism
> 
> I don't own Merlin


	5. No one cares in Camelot

Everyone knew it.

Regardless of Uther's laws; magic was still a large part of the kingdom.

Magical creatures weren't defeated by swords; powerful sorceresses didn't just disappear; and Arthur's servant's eyes, obviously, weren't normally golden.

Even the guards knew, but turned a blind eye.

So when a purple and pink unicorn chose to act against Uther, no one tried to stop it. And when they found Uther dead, pierced through the heart by its horn, they claimed it had been invisible.

The guards laid his corpse in the woods and used his tomb as wine cellar.

No one cared.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please leave constructive criticism
> 
> I don't own Merlin


	6. Nightmares

They started a year before her father died.

At first it was only bad dreams, long forgotten when she opened her eyes.

It was first after she arrived at Camelot that they became more.

They became clearer and now the shadows stayed with her in her waking hours, making it harder to pretend to be happy.

They tried to help her of course. Bitter potions and soothing words. But the dreams would come either way.

She woke up screaming; they still didn't understand.

But the worst times were when she woke up, and her nightmares became reality.

Fear was born.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please leave constructive criticism
> 
> I don't own Merlin


	7. Those Special Things

They all had something special.

Arthur had his sword (he loved to swing it around, reminding them of that he had pulled out of a stone)

Merlin had his neckerchief (no one had seen him without)

Sir Leon had his crossbow (pretty good replacement for a wife, right?)

Sir Percival had his sleeveless chainmail (how hadn't he got his arms cut off yet?)

Sir Gwaine had his ale (it was widely known that he knew every tavern in the five kingdoms)

Sir Elyan had his salt (he had always something with him after the druid accident)

Gwen was rather envious.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please leave constructive criticism
> 
> I don't own Merlin


	8. The Wonders of Magic

Arthur smirked at him, and Merlin had no doubt what would come now.

"Ah, there you are, I was  _just_  looking for you." Arthur's grin got impossible bigger. "I need you to sharpen my sword, polish my chainmail, wash my clothes, repair my boots …"

The king walked out when he had finished listing all the chores, confident that his servant wouldn't be out any time soon.

Merlin had other ideas.

He waited a few seconds before muttering some words.

Then he sat down in an armchair and looked lazily at the chores doing themselves.

The wonders of magic …

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please leave constructive criticism
> 
> I don't own Merlin


	9. Hunting

Merlin hated hunting.

Arthur thought it was because he didn't like the killing.

He was partly right.

But it wasn't the  _killing_  the animals that bothered him the most; he and Will had tried setting up snares.

It was the part of them riding through the woods and  _hunting_  them.

Because;

He  _too_ was hiding, hoping not to get caught.

He _too_  could end up running through the woods with dogs snapping at his heels, while the knights were hunting him down.

But; unlike the deer he knew his hunters and he hoped that one day he would be free.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please leave constructive criticism
> 
> I don't own Merlin


	10. Picking Flowers

Merlin sat down in the clearing.

He had just finished picking herbs for Gaius, and thought he had deserved a small amount of rest before going back.

He looked at the green trees for some time, before his eyes caught something red.

A little flower.

Merlin smiled slightly and picked it up and observed it from every possible position.

Then he mumbled some soft words.

The flower changed colour to a royal blue, before slowly souring away up into the sky.

The warlock looked after it with a dazed smile.

He liked flowers, even if Arthur called him a girl.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please leave constructive criticism
> 
> I don't own Merlin


	11. Destiny Began

From the second he hatched, looking at the world for the first time, Kilgharrah had been looked upon with awe.

From the moment he learned to read the threads of the destiny, he knew why.

He saw destinies coming true, broke or was rewritten.

He saw the healed and the broken; peace and war.

But he didn't do anything.

That was when the prophecy of Albion was born.

He promised that one would be fulfilled.

And so he waited.

Hundreds of years later, in a time of darkness, was it finally time.

"Where are you?"*

"I'm here"*

Destiny had begun.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> * Qotes from season 1 episode 1 "The Dragon's Call"
> 
> Please leave constructive criticism
> 
> I don't own Merlin


	12. Daydreaming

It was in the end of spring and all around green dominated the picture.

Merlin was walking through the woods once again, this time to meet someone.

This "someone" chose that moment to knock him over.

"Aithusa?!" He laughed at the little white creature. The dragon gave a little squeak of happiness, and soon got the warlock to run around and play with her.

This carefree game was of course interrupted when a man stood out from the trees.

"And what  _exactly_ is going on here,  _Mer_ lin?!" A very unimpressed king asked.

"Ehm," was the warlock's intelligent reply. "You're dreaming?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please leave constructive criticism
> 
> I don't own Merlin


	13. Chapter 13

Merlin wasn't happy; he was mucking out the stables and it had rained all day.

He was in a little happier when he had finished and a warm meal was calling.

Then the rain suddenly stopped.

He looked up at sky; there were no clouds anymore, only the clear sky could be seen.

Strange.

He sat on his bed when he finally found a reason.

His mood-swing.

He began to get angry; now he couldn't even  _feel_ anymore; without even the weather reacting.

That's when a mini-tornado appeared in his room, leaving it a mess.

_Gaius wouldn't even believe him!*_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> * Again a reference to season 1 episode 1 (The dragon's call) where Gaius asks Merlin if his room is a mess because of magic.
> 
> Please leave constructive criticism
> 
> I don't own Merlin


	14. Always Waiting

The waiting is always the worst part.

The waiting before you're telling a big secret; the fear off the listener's reaction and you're asking yourself the question: "was this the right choice?"

The waiting when one of your friends is badly hurt and you don't know if they are going to make it.

The waiting before a battle begins. Will you win or lose? Will you die? Will your friends and family survive?

It will always be the worst part, the waiting; because you don't know how it will affect the future.

You only know that it _will_  change it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please leave constructive criticism
> 
> I don't own Merlin


	15. Weirder things have happened

"I know it is you father."*

The former king looked coldly at his son.

"Why are you doing this?"*

"I did not spend my  _whole life_  building this kingdom, only to see  _my own son_  destroy it!" Uther snarled.

A bright light suddenly appeared, and out stepped Ygraine.

The late queen stood, her hands on her hips, and glared at the dumbstruck Uther.

"Uther Pendragon! You have  _no right_  to talk to our son in that way!"

Uther cringed under his queen's stare.

She then turned to her son.

"I love you my son, and  _I am_ proud of you!"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> * quotes from season 5 episode 3 (The Death Song of Uther Pendragon)
> 
> Please leave constructive criticism
> 
> I don't own Merlin


	16. Apples and Ale

Most times when someone thought of Gwaine it was either related to ale or apples.

But even he had secrets.

He'd not always been drinking just for fun.

He had been raised by his mother along with his sister. They had been denied any help after his father died, even when he had been a knight.

When his mother died, he had left his sister alone and fled. Guilty and sad he had slowly moved from place to place, getting drunk just to forget.

Meeting Arthur and Merlin changed his life.

With regard to the apples; he just loved them!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please leave constructive criticism
> 
> I don't own Merlin


	17. A Full Moon

For many years, he had now and then changed his skin to fur, and crawled under the cover of the trees. He would run, paws nearly flying over the ground, until he came to a high cliff. Here he would tilt his head back and howl his pent up emotions out to the full moon.

Then secrets had been discovered, bonds broken and mended, and promises and threats had been said; and it changed.

He still howled, but this time it wasn't a lone tune filled with sorrow, but one of freedom.

Because this time the others sang with him.


	18. Arisen Again - Telling Stories

More than a millennium after Camelot had fallen, the time for the Once and Future King arrived once more.

One moment the water of the Lake of Avalon was completely still, the next a blinding light appeared.

No one noticed, only a young looking, raven-haired man.

Then the king had been lying on the shore.

He woke up confused to his manservant's big smile. "Wake up prat, I think your beauty-sleep has lasted long enough."

"What happened?" The last thing he remembered was dying.

The warlock got a strange glint in his eyes. "Let me tell you a story …"


	19. Arisen Again - New Foes

They arrived at Merlin's flat, and the servant went out to get them some food, leaving the king alone.

He looked around and found a strange window leading to another room.

A man was shouting "I will kill you!" to a frightened woman.

Then the man attacked, and the king lunged at him with his sword.

There was a loud crash, and then it was raining with small splinters; but the man disappeared!

The king was quite pleased with himself.

Someone cleared their throat, and he turned around.

It was an annoyed-looking Merlin.

"What?"

"You just destroyed my TV …"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please leave constructive criticism
> 
> I don't own Merlin


	20. Arisen Agian - Historie Lessons

"- And over here we have a collection of silver goblets from the late 5th century. –"

The female guide stopped as one of the visitors raised his hand. "Yes?"

"Why are they slightly bent?"

"Well –"

"It was probably a very prattish king, who thought it would be fun to throw it at his poor servant." A young raven-haired man said with an innocent look. His golden haired friend snorted and mumbled, "The servant was probably an idiot …"

The guide glared at them until they walked away.

"See? They never believe the truth! They make history  _so_  boring!"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please leave constructive criticism
> 
> I don't own Merlin

**Author's Note:**

> Please leave constructive criticism
> 
> I don't own Merlin


End file.
